Publication date: Available online 4 May 2016
Source:Gait & Posture
Author(s): L. Britten, K. Shire, R.O. Coats, S.L. Astill
The aim of the present study was to establish if and how the additional postural constraint of standing affects accuracy and precision of goal directed naturalistic actions. Forty participants, comprising 20 young adults aged 20–23 years and 20 children aged 9-10 years completed 3 manual dexterity tasks on a tablet laptop with a handheld stylus during two separate conditions [1] while standing [2] while seated. The order of conditions was counterbalanced across both groups of participants. The tasks were [1] a tracking task, where the stylus tracked a dot in a figure of 8 at 3 speeds [2] an aiming task where the stylus moved from dot to dot with individual movements creating the outline of a pentagram [3] a tracing task, where participants had to move the stylus along a static pathway or maze. Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), movement time and path accuracy, respectively, were used to quantify the effect that postural condition had on manual control. Overall adults were quicker and more accurate than children when performing all 3 tasks, and where the task speed was manipulated accuracy was better at slower speeds for all participants. Surprisingly, children performed these tasks more quickly and more accurately when standing compared to when sitting. In conclusion, standing at a desk while performing goal directed tasks did not detrimentally affect children's manual control, and moreover offered a benefit.
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Τετάρτη 4 Μαΐου 2016
Directional acuity of whole-body perturbations during standing balance
Publication date: Available online 4 May 2016
Source:Gait & Posture
Author(s): M. Jane Puntkattalee, Clarissa J. Whitmire, Alix S. Macklin, Garrett B. Stanley, Lena H. Ting
The ability to perceive the direction of whole-body motion during standing may be critical to maintaining balance and preventing a fall. Our first goal was to quantify kinesthetic perception of whole-body motion by estimating directional acuity thresholds of support-surface perturbations during standing. The directional acuity threshold to lateral deviations in backward support-surface motion healthy, young adults was quantified as 9.5±2.4° using the psychometric method (n=25 subjects). However, inherent limitations in the psychometric method, such as a large number of required trials and the predetermined stimulus set, may preclude wider use of this method in clinical populations. Our second goal was to validate an adaptive algorithm known as parameter estimation by sequential testing (PEST) as an alternative threshold estimation technique to minimize the required trial count without predetermined knowledge of the relevant stimulus space. The directional acuity threshold was estimated at 11.7°±3.8° from the PEST method (n=11 of 25 subjects, psychometric threshold=10.1±3.1°) using only one-third the number of trials compared to the psychometric method. Furthermore, PEST estimates of the direction acuity threshold were highly correlated with the psychometric estimates across subjects (r=0.93) suggesting that both methods provide comparable estimates of the perceptual threshold. Computational modeling of both techniques revealed similar variance in the estimated thresholds across simulations of about 1°. Our results suggest that the PEST algorithm can be used to more quickly quantify whole-body directional acuity during standing in individuals with balance impairments.
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Source:Gait & Posture
Author(s): M. Jane Puntkattalee, Clarissa J. Whitmire, Alix S. Macklin, Garrett B. Stanley, Lena H. Ting
The ability to perceive the direction of whole-body motion during standing may be critical to maintaining balance and preventing a fall. Our first goal was to quantify kinesthetic perception of whole-body motion by estimating directional acuity thresholds of support-surface perturbations during standing. The directional acuity threshold to lateral deviations in backward support-surface motion healthy, young adults was quantified as 9.5±2.4° using the psychometric method (n=25 subjects). However, inherent limitations in the psychometric method, such as a large number of required trials and the predetermined stimulus set, may preclude wider use of this method in clinical populations. Our second goal was to validate an adaptive algorithm known as parameter estimation by sequential testing (PEST) as an alternative threshold estimation technique to minimize the required trial count without predetermined knowledge of the relevant stimulus space. The directional acuity threshold was estimated at 11.7°±3.8° from the PEST method (n=11 of 25 subjects, psychometric threshold=10.1±3.1°) using only one-third the number of trials compared to the psychometric method. Furthermore, PEST estimates of the direction acuity threshold were highly correlated with the psychometric estimates across subjects (r=0.93) suggesting that both methods provide comparable estimates of the perceptual threshold. Computational modeling of both techniques revealed similar variance in the estimated thresholds across simulations of about 1°. Our results suggest that the PEST algorithm can be used to more quickly quantify whole-body directional acuity during standing in individuals with balance impairments.
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Evidence-based guidelines for recommending cochlear implantation for young children: Audiological criteria and optimizing age at implantation
10.3109/14992027.2016.1157268<br/>Jaime R. Leigh
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The correlation between ECochG parameters and early auditory behavior after cochlear implantation in children.
The correlation between ECochG parameters and early auditory behavior after cochlear implantation in children.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-7
Authors: Stuermer KJ, Beutner D, Streicher B, Foerst A, Felsch M, Lang-Roth R, Walger M
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The individual outcome after cochlear implantation in children with auditory synaptopathy/neuropathy (AS/AN) is difficult to predict. A tool for preoperative assessment would be helpful for counseling parents. This study evaluates the outcome after CI in children with AS/AN and with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), and correlates it with the preoperative ECochG results in order to find specific parameters of prognostic value.
DESIGN: The improvement of auditory behavior after CI was retrospectively assessed using the LittlEARS questionnaire and quantified in a score (LS). This score was correlated with the CAP/SP ratio in the preoperative ECochG. The score was further correlated with the patient's age six months following CI.
STUDY SAMPLE: Nine children with AS/AN were compared to nine children with SNHL.
RESULTS: Both groups showed a significant improvement in LS following CI. There was a significant positive correlation between the CAP/SP ratio and the improvement in LS in all children. The correlation between age and LS was significantly negative in the SNHL group and positive in the AS/AN group.
CONCLUSION: All children with AS/AN and SNHL benefit to a similar extent from CI. The preoperatively assessed CAP/SP ratio has a prognostic value for the development of auditory behavior following CI.
PMID: 27139505 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Influence of stimulation position on the sensitivity for bone conduction hearing aids without skin penetration.
Influence of stimulation position on the sensitivity for bone conduction hearing aids without skin penetration.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-8
Authors: Dobrev I, Stenfelt S, Röösli C, Bolt L, Pfiffner F, Gerig R, Huber A, Sim JH
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study explores the influence of stimulation position on bone conduction (BC) hearing sensitivity with a BC transducer attached using a headband.
DESIGN: (1) The cochlear promontory motion was measured in cadaver heads using laser Doppler vibrometry while seven different positions around the pinna were stimulated using a bone anchored hearing aid transducer attached using a headband. (2) The BC hearing thresholds were measured in human subjects, with the bone vibrator Radioear B71 attached to the same seven stimulation positions.
STUDY SAMPLE: Three cadaver heads and twenty participants.
RESULTS: Stimulation on a position superior-anterior to the pinna generated the largest promontory motion and the lowest BC thresholds. Stimulations on the positions superior to the pinna, the mastoid, and posterior-inferior to the pinna showed similar magnitudes of promontory motion and similar levels of BC thresholds.
CONCLUSION: Stimulations on the regions superior to the pinna, the mastoid, and posterior-inferior to the pinna provide stable BC transmission, and are insensitive to small changes of the stimulation position. Therefore it is reliable to use the mastoid to determine BC thresholds in clinical audiometry. However, stimulation on a position superior-anterior to the pinna provides more efficient BC transmission than stimulation on the mastoid.
PMID: 27139310 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Barriers to early cochlear implantation.
Barriers to early cochlear implantation.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-13
Authors: Dettman S, Choo D, Dowell R
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Identify variables associated with paediatric access to cochlear implants (CIs).
DESIGN: Part 1. Trends over time for age at CI surgery (N = 802) and age at hearing aid (HA) fitting (n = 487) were examined with regard to periods before, during, and after newborn hearing screening (NHS). Part 2. Demographic factors were explored for 417 children implanted under 3 years of age. Part 3. Pre-implant steps for the first 20 children to receive CIs under 12 months were examined.
RESULTS: Part 1. Age at HA fitting and CI surgery reduced over time, and were associated with NHS implementation. Part 2. For children implanted under 3 years, earlier age at HA fitting and higher family socio-economic status were associated with earlier CI. Progressive hearing loss was associated with later CIs. Children with a Connexin 26 diagnosis received CIs earlier than children with a premature / low birth weight history. Part 3. The longest pre-CI steps were Step 1: Birth to diagnosis/identification of hearing loss (mean 16.43 weeks), and Step 11: MRI scans to implant surgery (mean 15.05 weeks) for the first 20 infants with CIs under 12 months.
CONCLUSION: NHS implementation was associated with reductions in age at device intervention in this cohort.
PMID: 27139125 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Development of Telscreen: a telephone-based speech-in-noise hearing screening test with a novel masking noise and scoring procedure.
Development of Telscreen: a telephone-based speech-in-noise hearing screening test with a novel masking noise and scoring procedure.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-9
Authors: Dillon H, Beach EF, Seymour J, Carter L, Golding M
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: In 2006 the National Acoustic Laboratories was commissioned to create a telephone-based hearing screening test.
DESIGN: NAL developed 'Telscreen', a speech-in-noise test modelled on the Dutch and UK telephone tests. The first version, Telscreen I, had several novel features: individual scoring of digits; individual equalization of digit intelligibility; and accuracy-determined test termination. Evaluation of Telscreen I revealed that it did not discriminate satisfactorily between those with and without hearing impairment. Subsequently Telscreen II, which included a novel sensitized masking noise, was developed.
STUDY SAMPLE: Telscreen I was evaluated by 105 participants (22-86 years), 37% with normal hearing (all thresholds <20 dB HL in the test ear), 63% with hearing impairment (all thresholds >20 dB HL in the test ear). Telscreen II was evaluated by 75 participants (25-86 years), 33% with normal hearing, 67% with hearing impairment.
RESULTS: Correlations between Telscreen I results and hearing thresholds, r = 0.57, and hearing disability scores, r = 0.51 were highly significant, but lower than expected. Correlations for Telscreen II were higher: r = 0.77 and 0.65, respectively. Telscreen II was found to have high sensitivity: 90%; and specificity: 90.2%.
CONCLUSIONS: Telscreen II is an efficient, reliable, and innovative hearing screening test that provides a solid foundation for future tests delivered via mobile and internet technologies.
PMID: 27138873 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Applying theories of health behaviour and change to hearing health research: Time for a new approach.
Applying theories of health behaviour and change to hearing health research: Time for a new approach.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-6
Authors: Coulson NS, Ferguson MA, Henshaw H, Heffernan E
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: In recent years, there has been an increase in the application of behavioural models, such as social cognition models, to the promotion of hearing health. Despite this, there exists a well-developed body of literature that suggests such models may fail to consistently explain reliable amounts of variability in human behaviours.
DESIGN: This paper provides a summary of this research across selected models of health-related behaviour, outlining the current state of the evidence.
RESULTS: Recent work in the field of behaviour change is presented together with commentary on the design and reporting of behaviour change interventions.
CONCLUSIONS: We propose that attempts to use unreliable models to explain and predict hearing health behaviours should now be replaced by work which integrates the latest in behaviour change science, such as the Behaviour Change Wheel and Theoretical Domains Framework.
PMID: 27138716 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Evidence-based guidelines for recommending cochlear implantation for young children: Audiological criteria and optimizing age at implantation
10.3109/14992027.2016.1157268<br/>Jaime R. Leigh
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The correlation between ECochG parameters and early auditory behavior after cochlear implantation in children.
The correlation between ECochG parameters and early auditory behavior after cochlear implantation in children.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-7
Authors: Stuermer KJ, Beutner D, Streicher B, Foerst A, Felsch M, Lang-Roth R, Walger M
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The individual outcome after cochlear implantation in children with auditory synaptopathy/neuropathy (AS/AN) is difficult to predict. A tool for preoperative assessment would be helpful for counseling parents. This study evaluates the outcome after CI in children with AS/AN and with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), and correlates it with the preoperative ECochG results in order to find specific parameters of prognostic value.
DESIGN: The improvement of auditory behavior after CI was retrospectively assessed using the LittlEARS questionnaire and quantified in a score (LS). This score was correlated with the CAP/SP ratio in the preoperative ECochG. The score was further correlated with the patient's age six months following CI.
STUDY SAMPLE: Nine children with AS/AN were compared to nine children with SNHL.
RESULTS: Both groups showed a significant improvement in LS following CI. There was a significant positive correlation between the CAP/SP ratio and the improvement in LS in all children. The correlation between age and LS was significantly negative in the SNHL group and positive in the AS/AN group.
CONCLUSION: All children with AS/AN and SNHL benefit to a similar extent from CI. The preoperatively assessed CAP/SP ratio has a prognostic value for the development of auditory behavior following CI.
PMID: 27139505 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Influence of stimulation position on the sensitivity for bone conduction hearing aids without skin penetration.
Influence of stimulation position on the sensitivity for bone conduction hearing aids without skin penetration.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-8
Authors: Dobrev I, Stenfelt S, Röösli C, Bolt L, Pfiffner F, Gerig R, Huber A, Sim JH
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study explores the influence of stimulation position on bone conduction (BC) hearing sensitivity with a BC transducer attached using a headband.
DESIGN: (1) The cochlear promontory motion was measured in cadaver heads using laser Doppler vibrometry while seven different positions around the pinna were stimulated using a bone anchored hearing aid transducer attached using a headband. (2) The BC hearing thresholds were measured in human subjects, with the bone vibrator Radioear B71 attached to the same seven stimulation positions.
STUDY SAMPLE: Three cadaver heads and twenty participants.
RESULTS: Stimulation on a position superior-anterior to the pinna generated the largest promontory motion and the lowest BC thresholds. Stimulations on the positions superior to the pinna, the mastoid, and posterior-inferior to the pinna showed similar magnitudes of promontory motion and similar levels of BC thresholds.
CONCLUSION: Stimulations on the regions superior to the pinna, the mastoid, and posterior-inferior to the pinna provide stable BC transmission, and are insensitive to small changes of the stimulation position. Therefore it is reliable to use the mastoid to determine BC thresholds in clinical audiometry. However, stimulation on a position superior-anterior to the pinna provides more efficient BC transmission than stimulation on the mastoid.
PMID: 27139310 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Barriers to early cochlear implantation.
Barriers to early cochlear implantation.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-13
Authors: Dettman S, Choo D, Dowell R
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Identify variables associated with paediatric access to cochlear implants (CIs).
DESIGN: Part 1. Trends over time for age at CI surgery (N = 802) and age at hearing aid (HA) fitting (n = 487) were examined with regard to periods before, during, and after newborn hearing screening (NHS). Part 2. Demographic factors were explored for 417 children implanted under 3 years of age. Part 3. Pre-implant steps for the first 20 children to receive CIs under 12 months were examined.
RESULTS: Part 1. Age at HA fitting and CI surgery reduced over time, and were associated with NHS implementation. Part 2. For children implanted under 3 years, earlier age at HA fitting and higher family socio-economic status were associated with earlier CI. Progressive hearing loss was associated with later CIs. Children with a Connexin 26 diagnosis received CIs earlier than children with a premature / low birth weight history. Part 3. The longest pre-CI steps were Step 1: Birth to diagnosis/identification of hearing loss (mean 16.43 weeks), and Step 11: MRI scans to implant surgery (mean 15.05 weeks) for the first 20 infants with CIs under 12 months.
CONCLUSION: NHS implementation was associated with reductions in age at device intervention in this cohort.
PMID: 27139125 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Development of Telscreen: a telephone-based speech-in-noise hearing screening test with a novel masking noise and scoring procedure.
Development of Telscreen: a telephone-based speech-in-noise hearing screening test with a novel masking noise and scoring procedure.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-9
Authors: Dillon H, Beach EF, Seymour J, Carter L, Golding M
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: In 2006 the National Acoustic Laboratories was commissioned to create a telephone-based hearing screening test.
DESIGN: NAL developed 'Telscreen', a speech-in-noise test modelled on the Dutch and UK telephone tests. The first version, Telscreen I, had several novel features: individual scoring of digits; individual equalization of digit intelligibility; and accuracy-determined test termination. Evaluation of Telscreen I revealed that it did not discriminate satisfactorily between those with and without hearing impairment. Subsequently Telscreen II, which included a novel sensitized masking noise, was developed.
STUDY SAMPLE: Telscreen I was evaluated by 105 participants (22-86 years), 37% with normal hearing (all thresholds <20 dB HL in the test ear), 63% with hearing impairment (all thresholds >20 dB HL in the test ear). Telscreen II was evaluated by 75 participants (25-86 years), 33% with normal hearing, 67% with hearing impairment.
RESULTS: Correlations between Telscreen I results and hearing thresholds, r = 0.57, and hearing disability scores, r = 0.51 were highly significant, but lower than expected. Correlations for Telscreen II were higher: r = 0.77 and 0.65, respectively. Telscreen II was found to have high sensitivity: 90%; and specificity: 90.2%.
CONCLUSIONS: Telscreen II is an efficient, reliable, and innovative hearing screening test that provides a solid foundation for future tests delivered via mobile and internet technologies.
PMID: 27138873 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Applying theories of health behaviour and change to hearing health research: Time for a new approach.
Applying theories of health behaviour and change to hearing health research: Time for a new approach.
Int J Audiol. 2016 May 3;:1-6
Authors: Coulson NS, Ferguson MA, Henshaw H, Heffernan E
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: In recent years, there has been an increase in the application of behavioural models, such as social cognition models, to the promotion of hearing health. Despite this, there exists a well-developed body of literature that suggests such models may fail to consistently explain reliable amounts of variability in human behaviours.
DESIGN: This paper provides a summary of this research across selected models of health-related behaviour, outlining the current state of the evidence.
RESULTS: Recent work in the field of behaviour change is presented together with commentary on the design and reporting of behaviour change interventions.
CONCLUSIONS: We propose that attempts to use unreliable models to explain and predict hearing health behaviours should now be replaced by work which integrates the latest in behaviour change science, such as the Behaviour Change Wheel and Theoretical Domains Framework.
PMID: 27138716 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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